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Product Comparison

Here's our complete breakdown comparing the ingredients, attributes, and more of The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser versus Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser .

Last updated on July 18, 2023. Published on October 15, 2021

Overview

What they are

These products are both face cleansers. They have a total of 3 ingredients in common

Suited For

They're both likely to be good for dry skin and brightening skin

Free From

They both do not contain any oils, silicones or sulfates

What's Inside

They both contain fragrances

We independently verify ingredients, and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Spot a product that need an update? Let us know.

Face Cleanser British Brand United Kingdom
Face Cleanser American Brand United States

Face Cleanser

Face cleansers are used to remove makeup, dead skin cells, pollutants, oil, dirt, and/or clean out pores on the skin. Face cleansers may specialize in having one function (exa. just removing makeup) or may have multiple functions (exa. Removing makeup and cleaning pores).

Face Cleanser

Face cleansers are used to remove makeup, dead skin cells, pollutants, oil, dirt, and/or clean out pores on the skin. Face cleansers may specialize in having one function (exa. just removing makeup) or may have multiple functions (exa. Removing makeup and cleaning pores).

Price

Shop

Buy Salicylic Acid Cleanser

Starts at $13.00
Shop

Buy Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser

Starts at $4.49

Ingredient Info

Click any item below to learn more and view relevant ingredients.
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free
alcohol-free
silicon-free
fragrance-free
sulfate-free
paraben-free
oil-free
fungal-acne safe
reef-safe
eu-allergen-free
vegan
cruelty-free

At a glance

Click on any of the items below to learn more

Notable Ingredients

BHA
Vitamin E

Benefits

Hydrating (2)
Good For Oily Skin
Redness Reducing (2)
Reduces Irritation (2)
Reduces Large Pores
Scar Healing (3)
Acne Fighting (2)
Brightening (3)

Concerns

Drying (3)
May Worsen Oily Skin
Acne Trigger
Irritating (2)
Rosacea (3)
Eczema (3)

Benefits

Hydrating
Brightening

Concerns

Drying
May Worsen Oily Skin
Acne Trigger (2)
Rosacea
Eczema (3)
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Ingredients Side-by-side

Ingredients that are highlighted in purple are present in both products.

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Ingredients Explained

These ingredients are found in both products.

Ingredients higher up in an ingredient list are typically present in a larger amount.

1
What it does: Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting, Solvent
Community Rating: Loved

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

As a humectant, it helps the skin stay hydrated by pulling moisture to your skin. The low molecular weight of glycerin allows it to pull moisture into the deeper layers of your skin.

Hydrated skin improves your skin barrier; Your skin barrier helps protect against irritants and bacteria.

Glycerin has also been found to have antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Due to these properties, glycerin is often used in wound and burn treatments.

In cosmetics, glycerin is usually derived from plants such as soybean or palm. However, it can also be sourced from animals, such as tallow or animal fat.

This ingredient is organic, colorless, odorless, and non-toxic.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin

The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 2.

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 6.

2
What it does: Cleansing
Community Rating: Disliked

Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a fatty acid created by mixing similar compounds in coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine. Dimethylaminopropylamine is a diamine, an amine with two amino groups.

Cocamidopropyl Betaine is a surfactant and cleanser. It helps gather the dirt, pollutants, and other impurities in your skin to be washed away. It also helps thicken a product and make the texture more creamy.

Being created from coconut oil means Cocamidopropyl Betaine is hydrating for the skin.

While Cocamidopropyl Betaine was believed to be an allergen, a study from 2012 disproved this. It found two compounds in unpure Cocamidopropyl Betaine to be the irritants: aminoamide and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine. High-grade and pure Cocamidopropyl Betaine did not induce allergic reactions during this study.

Learn more about Cocamidopropyl Betaine

The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 4.

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 8.

3
What it does: Preservative
Community Rating: Very Disliked

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent germ and microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 11.

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser contains this as ingredient number 9.

Here's what our community thinks of the ingredients in these two products.

36% are loved or liked
8% have mixed ratings
52% are disliked or very disliked
4% have no rating yet
19% are loved or liked
0% have mixed ratings
56% are disliked or very disliked
25% have no rating yet

Usage

Here's some more info on how this product is used by our community.

When to use

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Reviews

Here's what our community thinks

The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser 25 ingredients

3.9 /5
from 7 ratings
Great Value (2) No Scent (2) Works Well (2)
gemmajaws's avatar

gemmajaws

2 years ago · Dry Skin
Review

Great option to keep skin clear
Very gentle, lightly foaming cleanser, love the short squeezable bottle with flip top cap, perfect for keeping in...

Great option to keep skin clear
Very gentle, lightly foaming cleanser, love the short squeezable bottle with flip top cap, perfect for keeping in the shower. Effective but not stripping on the skin like some other SA cleansers I’ve tried. Free from pore clogging ingredients, this has become one of my all time favorite cleansers. For background, I have dry skin that is also prone to dehydration and is sensitive with a fair amount of surface redness on it so I only use this once per week. It’s not often I can use a foaming cleanser without it drying my skin and leaving it tight and itchy but this one is wonderful.

Hubayobi's avatar

Hubayobi

5 months ago · Combination Skin
Review

Good cleanser
Been using this a lot. Didn’t really do much to my skin, but it’s very cheap and a good daily cleanser for acne prone skin.

Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser 16 ingredients

1.0 /5
from 1 rating
ShiBLue's avatar

ShiBLue

1 year ago · Combination Skin
Review

Not for me!
2019 this is my first cleanser that I bought because it was cheap but after 1 months of using it, I have a lot of acne on my skin and...

Not for me!
2019 this is my first cleanser that I bought because it was cheap but after 1 months of using it, I have a lot of acne on my skin and this product didn't help, it only got worse. Many types of acne appear on my face, you name it my worst nightmare is an Acne Cyst, it really hurts to wash my face with this product.
👎 0/10

Alternatives

Our Dupe Finder has found 50 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to The INKEY List Salicylic Acid Cleanser.

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Our Dupe Finder has found 50 potential alternatives that have similar ingredients to Clean & Clear Essentials Foaming Oil-Free Facial Cleanser.

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